Rare Corpse Flower Blooms

A rare flower known as the titan arum bloomed on Saturday, June 9, 2012 at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Florida.

Also known as the “corpse flower” or “stinky plant” because of its signature smell of rotten meat. It’s known as one of the largest flowers in the world and has not bloomed in the Gardens since 2005.
When the rare flower bloomed in 2005, it reached a height of almost five feet before collapsing under it’s own weight. They can sometimes reach the height of nine feet and six feet across.

The titan arums are very sensitive plants and conditions must be perfect for them to bloom. These flowers are known for their fast growth especially as they reach near bloom stage, which can be 4 to 5 inches a day.

The bright purple rare flower will be visible for a day or two before the Amorphophallus titanum closes back up.

The corpse flower is related to the cuckoo pint and the calla lily. You can see the relation in the spathe, which looks like a large petal. With the titan arum, the spathe is green on the outside and dark burgundy red on the inside. The spadix is hollow and almost looks like a large loaf of French bread. The upper, visible portion of the spadix is covered in pollen, while its lower extremity is spangled with bright red-orange carpels. During bloom, the tip of the spadix is human body temperature, which helps the perfume volatilize; this heat is also believed to assist in the illusion that attracts carcass-eating insects, according to Wikipedia.

It is rare for anyone to see this rare flower in the U.S. A native of Sumatra, Indonesia, the corpse plant is listed on the World Conservation Union’s Red List of Threatened Species.

Visitors can view and smell the giant flower inside of Selby Gardens’ Tropical Conservatory from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily while it’s in bloom.

Corpse Flower Blooms

The stinky Corpse Flower (Titan Arum) is the largest flower in the plant kingdom. When in bloom, it smells like a rotting meat.